The Seminary CoOp Bookstore is a wonderful underground maze of twisty turning passages with books from floor to ceiling. No subject, from abstract mathematics to art, is beyond this collection. The Sem CoOp can be counted on to put forward books I haven’t heard of but want to read as soon as I see them.
And, after decades in this location, it’s having to move. The Chicago Theological Seminary, which housed the bookstore, moved to a different location. The University has put the building to a different use, turning it over to the new Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics (I have to wonder how Gary Becker, who is still very much alive, likes being paired with Milton Friedman…)
The Seminary CoOp Bookstore will be moving to a location a block away. I haven’t seen photos, but I’m sure the space will be more adequate – wider aisles, better ADA compliance, perhaps even more room for display. Nonetheless, I have trepidation that the intense intellectual fervor that marked this first store won’t survive in a well-lit airy location.
But I may be wrong. They may have located another warren of twisty turny passages and I’ll feel right at home.
Related articles
- The Seminary Co-Op Documentary Project (harvardpress.typepad.com)
- Help Seminary Co-op Document Its History (friendsofblackstone.wordpress.com)
- Something old, something new: Architectural vision changes campus and honors its history (news.uchicago.edu)
Hello,
It’s Jasmine, one of the two directors of the Seminary Co-op Documentary Project. We’ve since developed a website, so please check it out: semcoop-project.org
happy reading,
Jasmine